Give plastic waste, get attractive gifts

By Nischal Sanghavi

In a pilot project under Swachh Bharat Mission to reduce plastic waste, residents of Morbi are being encouraged to exchange plastic waste for useful household items; prog likely to be replicated across Gujarat

Residents in Morbi are scrounging for any and all plastic waste they can find in the house. Why you ask? They are going to exchange it for useful household items under a pilot project of the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban Gujarat to reduce plastic waste.

If this programme is a success, it is likely to be replicated in other districts of Gujarat said L R Damor, additional collector of Swachh Bharat Mission Urban Gujarat .

Chief Officer (Morbi Nagarpalika) Girish Sarvaiya said, “Under the scheme, people bring in plastic waste like milk bags, old toys, shampoo bottles etc. We weigh it and give them a gift in return. We accept between 1kg to 4 kg waste. More the weight, better the gift. Rewards include plastic chairs, pots, and buckets. Similarly, plastic disposable glasses can be exchanged for things like plastic containers and dustpan.”

He added, “The scheme was launched just three days ago, but we have already received tremendous response.” Morbi nagarpalika has set up three plastic waste collection centres in the city. Till now, already 2,777 kg of plastic waste has been exchanged. The project to make the city plastic-free will continue till August 31. After that, the results will be evaluated by Swachh Bharat Mission and the project is likely to be implemented in other municipal corporations.